Aljunied voters will regret choosing WP: MM Lee

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has warned Singaporeans, especially those in Aljunied GRC, they will "pay a price, the hard way" if they vote for the Opposition.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Tampines on Friday night, MM Lee said, "If Aljunied decides to go that way, well Aljunied has five years to live and repent."

The 87-year-old warned voters they would have to live with the choice they make come Polling Day on Saturday.

"It may well happen that they win, in which case the people of Aljunied live with the results," he was quoted as saying on The Straits Times.

"The only way people learn is when they have to pay a price. From time to time we may lose, and the voters pay the price, " he said.

He further cautioned, "If Singaporeans are that fickle, they will have to pay a price, the hard way."

He highlighted the example of opposition-held ward Hougang where, "If you have the wrong government, your property prices go right down. Ask why in Hougang the property is not as high as their neighbours."

The high-powered 'A' team from the Workers's Party contesting the Aljunied hotspot consists of former Hougang MP Low Thia Khiang, former NCMP Sylvia Lim, the party's "star catch" Chen Show Mao as well as family counsellor Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap and post-graduate law student Pritam Singh.

MM Lee also urged Aljunied voters to look at the track record of the different candidates.

"Do you want a capable team that can look after your interests, or do you want a team with little track record?" he said.

"At the end of the day, if you are in Aljunied, ask yourself: Do you want one MP, one Non-Constituency MP, one celebrity who has been away 30 years, and two unknowns to look after you?"

Or, he asked if voters would prefer two ministers, one potential Parliament Secretary, one potential Speaker of Parliament and one grassroots MP?

Cautioning voters against "trying their luck" when the value of their property and livelihood was on the line, MM Lee said, "Just think. Five years, they're in charge of your property and your lives... If you like to try your luck, well good luck to you. But I guarantee you, you will not do better than the PAP candidates."

"Do you want a first world government or you want a first world opposition?" he asked.

"And is this a first world opposition? Can they compare themselves to the senators in the US congress?... If you want a third world or even a second world opposition to come and create a bit of excitement, well that's your choice," he said.

"But I do not consider them a first world opposition. I do not want to degrade them but you just look at their track record."